1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a vacuum cleaner, particularly to a cylinder-type vacuum cleaner.
2. Description of the Related Art
Very few vacuum cleaners, upright or cylinder, are designed to be stably positioned on a flight of stairs. UK patent No. 658328 discloses a cylinder-type machine having skids attached to the underside of the cylindrical housing, the skids having notches located therein so that the machine can be "hooked" onto a stair nosing. This allows the user use of both hands to operate the hose or wand of the cleaner. A similar but improved design is described in our pending UK patent application No. 2292881A and corresponding PCT application No. WO 96/07350. An alternative design is illustrated in DE-U-9302645.
None of these prior art machines is designed or intended to be moved up or down a flight of stairs other than by the user lifting the entire machine and repositioning it on another convenient part of the flight of stairs. This can be quite cumbersome, especially if the user must also keep hold of the hose or wand during repositioning of the machine. It would be more convenient if the machine could be dragged or slid up the flight without having to physically lift the body of the machine but the configuration of each prior art machine is such that dragging or sliding is difficult and awkward and results in a substantial jolting of the machine. This can be detrimental to the operation of the machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,015,123 illustrates a vacuum cleaner which is intended to be slid or pulled up a flight of stairs, but the stability of the machine is insufficient for safe use.